The manufacture of stents, particularly in the medical field, often includes placing the medical stent within a mold. The mold and stent are then heated and an internal pressure is applied to the medical stent to force the exterior surface of the medical stent against the interior surface of the mold. The stent is then cooled so that the stent retains its expanded shape and the stent is removed from the mold. Generally, the stent is placed within a multi-segment mold, which requires a locking mechanism to ensure that the segments are stationary when the internal pressure is applied. The locking mechanism, however, may cause an unwanted tolerance range of an outer diameter of the medical stent. Additionally, the large mass of the multi-segment mold and the locking mechanism typically results in a long heating and/or cooling period of the mold, which may delay the manufacture of a subsequent medical stent and consequently increase cost and complexity of manufacture. Often, and due to the long cooling period of the mold, the internal pressure applied to the stent will be reduced, the locking mechanism will be released relatively quickly, and the multi-segment mold will be opened to allow the medical stent to cool. This may result in the medical stent deforming into an undesired shape. Conventional medical stents are sometimes tested for leaks in a subsequent method using another device after the stent is formed.
The present disclosure is directed to a medical stent thermoforming apparatus and methods that overcome one or more of the shortcomings in the prior art.